European Leagues Oppose FIFA’s Biennial World Cup Plans

The body representing professional competitions in Europe, European Leagues, said on Thursday it was against FIFA’s suggestion of organizing a World Cup every two years.

On Wednesday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the comprehensive shake-up would cut out “too many meaningless matches”.

European Leagues, whose board of directors comprised members from La Liga, the Premier League, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, and Serie A, met on Tuesday.

“The Leagues will work together with the other stakeholders to prevent football governing bodies from taking unilateral decisions that will harm domestic football which is the foundation of our industry and of extreme importance for clubs, players, and fans across Europe and the world,” it added.

Earlier this week, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin cautioned that hosting the World Cup every two rather than four years would “dilute” the tournament.

Fans from across the globe were also in favor of keeping the World Cup status quo.

“The overwhelming majority of fans oppose a biennial World Cup cycle, and if FIFA had bothered to engage with us on the subject, they would have known this to be the case,” 58 national fan organizations across the sport’s six confederations said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

“Why abandon almost a century’s worth of tradition on a whim and with no evidence that it will improve the global game?” it added.